Contents

Origin of magical abilities

Muggle-borns inherit magic from a distant ancestor; they are descended from Squibs who have married Muggles and whose families had lost the knowledge of their wizarding legacy. The magic resurfaces unexpectedly many generations later.[2]

When Muggle-born witches and wizards reach the age of eleven in the British wizarding community, their Hogwarts acceptance letters are delivered in person by a member of the staff, instead of by owl post (the usual postal system for wizards and witches). The purpose is to reassure the parents or guardians about the sudden news, and explain to them about the concealed magical society. They would also assist the family with the preparation for going to their desired wizarding school and for the buying of school supplies.[3]

Attitude towards Muggle-borns

Muggle-born witches and wizards are often derided by pure-bloods and called disparaging names such as "Mudblood", a term implying that they are somehow dirty and impure. Many pure-bloods believe that Muggle-borns are unworthy of magic and should not be allowed into the wizarding world. During the period of time where Muggle-Borns were being rounded up, a news article from the Daily Prophet stated that Muggle-Borns could have only obtained magic by force or theft. Those who do not perceive these beliefs, such as the Weasley family, are often labelled as "blood traitors".[4]

History of persecution

Ron Weasley: "But how are they supposed to have 'stolen' magic? It's mental, if you could steal magic there wouldn't be any Squibs, would there?"

Remus Lupin: "I know. Nevertheless, unless you can prove that you have at least one close wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your magical power illegally and must suffer the punishment."

This led some Muggle-borns, such as Dirk Cresswell, to forge their family trees. Those who refused to register, such as Ted Tonks, were forced to go on the run and were pursued by Snatchers, sometimes fatally.

There are also indications that a subtler, less virulent form of prejudice against Muggle-borns is relatively common in the wizarding world. For example, Horace Slughorn discriminated more on the grounds of talent or fame, rather than blood status, and thus included particularly talented Muggle-borns such as Hermione Granger, Lily Evans, and Dirk Cresswell among his favourite students. However, he generally expected his more talented students to be pure-bloods and was surprised when Muggle-borns performed very well. When he remarked upon this to Harry Potter in 1996 and Harry responded coldly, Slughorn was genuinely surprised, and insisted that he was not prejudiced.[5] This may indicate that even among those who do not believe Muggle-borns are inherently inferior or "dirty", there tends to be a false belief that most Muggle-borns are less magically talented than those with wizarding heritage. However, Slughorn could have also meant that since Muggle-borns are not raised around magic, it is all the more astonishing when they do very well in school.

The Ministry of Magic also seemed to have mildly favoured pure-bloods for many years before it was reformed after the Second Wizarding War, as there were still "pro-pure-blood laws" in existence, which Hermione later eliminated. Albus Dumbledore also once accused Minister for MagicCornelius Fudge himself of placing too much importance on blood purity, as Fudge was sided more with old, wealthy and influential pure-blood families such as the Malfoys, and looked down upon those who had less wealth and more affiliation with Muggles, like the Weasleys[6].